We live our lives and try to utilize our given span to do something good for our kith and kin so that they will remember us as with good memories. However, in my opinion, it not necessary that everyone who lives after us decide our greatness, even contemporaries can decide it.
Family members will decide if we have made them financially independent with insurance policies, real estate, bank balance etc. Many decide with the marvellous human qualities or superb career, victories, successes. These are personal life angles. Professionally also people remember us if we have done miraculous jobs. Our work, money, adventurous compels people to decide us as a great personality. The ideal people have done the hard work throughout their lives and had given the fruitful results to future generations. The example for this is Mahatma Gandhi in India. During the year 1947, he has done excellent work in collectively organizing the meetings, spreading the awareness of freedom in society. This has benefited the Indian society to achieve freedom.
There are also cases where their contemporaries have revealed the greatness of those people. For example, Nelson Mandela in Africa has started the revolution in which notorious persons have joined and supported the cause. However, people have hard hearts to appreciate anyone’s arduous and significant works in many fields. People are capricious as well. Unless and until we burn our midnight oils and prove ourselves, no one will decide our high position, especially in the contemporary era, when things are detrimental. Very few persons are lucky enough to get pearls and diamonds of appreciations from contemporaries. Hammering the last nail, both the side greatness will be decided, after our death and contemporaries. However, when we alive and we are decided great will be something called the cherry on the cake.
In the end, I opine that not only by materialistic achievements but our compassionate activities for all people for the world, great karma and inner spiritual qualities makes us great.